Volume 7 Shorts
by ezmodo
Summary: Various shorts written while V7 airs. Content will vary by chapter. Episodes will be referenced in the chapter titles.
1. Friendship v2 (V7E1)

Penny's heart soared as she danced through the air above the streets of Mantle.

Ruby was here.

She unleashed a beam that tore through two Sabretooths that were preparing to pounce on a man cowering behind a car. She saluted the civilian as she flew past, continuing her sweep of the city.

Ruby was here!

Ruby, her best friend in the whole wide world, was here in Mantle!

Penny thought she'd never see her again. After the Fall, Penny woke in the safety of her father's workshop. He told her that she'd "died," killed by Pyrrha Nikos during their tournament fight. Penny didn't remember that at _all_. She had been fighting blow-for-blow against Ms. Nikos and having such a grand time of it. No one had ever been able to match her in a spar before and Penny found the whole experience delightful.

When Penny pulled back to unleash her special move, everything went black. Moments later she was rebooting and her father was smiling down at her. He must have deleted that last moment from her memory to spare her the pain. He was such a kind man. Penny was just a little bit disappointed though - she thought it would have been a rather unique experience to have.

Penny wanted nothing more than to leave and go find Ruby. There were villains out there and she just knew that her best friend would be out there fighting them. Mr. Ironwood asked her to join the military officially and protect Atlas. He'd said that they could be attacked at anytime and that the people of Atlas needed her help. Her father argued a lot with Mr. Ironwood about that but they eventually found a middle ground. Penny would be the unofficial protector of Mantle and be there to respond to any attacks the military weren't able to stop in time.

It was frustrating at first. Ruby was a huntress and a hero but she'd need all the help she could get, but the people of Mantle really did need Penny. The Grimm were getting into the city at least once a week and they were often stronger than the AK-200s that patrolled the streets could handle. She knew Ruby would never abandon people in need and she wasn't about to either. Penny had even made new friends, though none as close as Ruby.

One such friend was calling to her now. Penny turned at the next intersection, using a streetlight to swing herself around and gain momentum. The traffic over the military network indicated that the attack was over but a sole distress signal was coming in from two blocks away. She didn't need to rush - there were no hostiles in the area, after all - but the sooner she helped her friend, the sooner she could get back home to see Ruby.

The street had seen fighting. Scanning the road, Penny was happy to see that none of the local residents had been caught up in the attack. The only "casualties" to be found were the remains of the AK-200s that fell victim to the Grimm. It was under one such crumpled robot that she found her friend.

"Salutations, Lemon! Are you in need of assistance?"

She received no response, though the distress signal continued to broadcast. Crouching down, she came face-to-camera with the surveillance drone. The poor thing was on its side, crushed under the weight of the combat robot.

"Are you well?" she asked. The only response was the whir of the bot's camera as it scanned Penny's face.

She lifted the heavier robot off the little drone and dumped the mangled remains off to the side. Penny dusted her friend off and patted the lemon sticker on its chassis affectionately. She had given each of her drone friends one and each neighborhood had its own theme. This neighborhood was fruit, to the east was vegetables, to the west was birds, and so on. Whenever the little girl who lived across the street gave her a new sheet of stickers Penny would range further from home to give her friends names.

"I'm glad to see you're unharmed," Penny said happily.

The little droid hovered in place for a time, internal devices whirring as it did a self diagnostic. Then, without so much as even a glance, it continued down the road on its preprogrammed route. Penny waved after him until he disappeared around the corner. They weren't like her, she knew. They didn't have aura, or a personality, and they never responded when she chatted with them, but she loved them all the same. She was glad Lemon was okay.

Lifting off, Penny decided to make one last lap around the neighborhood to make sure no one else needed assistance. There were no hostiles reported in the area, but casualties among the local residents often went unreported. As excited as she was to hang out with Ruby, she wouldn't abandon the people she swore to protect.

Penny couldn't help feeling giddy. She wanted to hear all about Ruby's adventures. They hadn't seen each other in so long, after all, and no news ever came in about the outside world. Penny even had stories of her own to share. And when was the best time to share stories? At a sleepover, of course!

Nails! Clothes! Cute boys! Penny would finally get that sleepover she had been planning since she first met Ruby. She'd invite the rest of Ruby's team, naturally, and Team JNPR as well. The more the merrier, after all. Team JNPR was 50% cute boys though. Could you talk about cute boys while said cute boys were in the room? She'd have to ask Ruby.

Penny didn't recall seeing Pyrrha Nikos with the group earlier. She'd have to ask about that as well. She really wanted to tell Ms. Nikos that there were no hard feelings for what happened during the tournament. After all, they'd cross blades in the heat of battle and, according to that cartoon Ruby told her to watch, that built the strongest friendships.

Her sweep of the city complete, Penny turned towards home. She just knew her father would let her have a sleepover. Tonight would be the birth of v2.0 of the unstoppable Ruby/Penny friendship!

Maria sat heavily on the curb outside of Pietro's house, back complaining about her choice of seat. Not half an hour in Mantle and the brats had already gotten themselves arrested. She shouldn't be surprised, honestly. Not since they all so readily jumped at the blond doofus' plan to steal a bullhead to get here in the first place. Pietro paced nervously in the street, robotic legs taking him to and fro. His daughter was on her way back and he didn't look prepared to deliver the bad news.

In a flash of green, said daughter rocketed down onto the street, going down to one knee dramatically as dust whirled around her landing zone.

"Father!" the girl exclaimed, approaching her father. "I was hoping Ruby and her friends could stay over tonight for a sleepover…" Penny started, hands gesticulating excitedly.

"Penny," Pietro said patiently as he wrung his hands.

"And her boy friends, too. Not _boy_friends, though maybe one of them _is_ her boyfriend. Do you think so? Anyway, it would be rude to leave them out, and I know it's unorthodox…"

"Sweetie…"

"They can sleep in the other room! Oh, we can watch movies, and play games, and..."

"_Darling._"

"Oh! We'll also need to feed them. Do you think they'd like pizza? I've read that pizza is _the_ sleepover cuisine of choice. But I don't have any allowance...do you mind if-"

"Enough!" Maria snapped, slamming her cane onto the curb for effect. She thought Ruby and that Nora girl were bad, but Pietro's daughter was a whole new level of spastic.

"My apologies, Ruby's Grandma," Penny said quickly before turning back to her father. "Where _is_ Ruby, Father?"

Maria nearly choked. "Who are you calling grandma?"

"My apologies," Penny repeated, bowing. "Granny."

"Granny?!"

"Listen," Pietro blurted before Maria could start in. "Your friends were...well…"

"They were tied up and thrown into the back of a bullhead bound for Atlas," Maria said, grumbling at the robotic whippersnapper's sass as she climbed to her feet.

"They were _KIDNAPPED?_" Maria didn't see where the blades came from, but now Penny was surrounded by the things, each glinting dangerously in the low light. "Don't you worry, I'll go and rescue them! You should alert the military!"

Pietro rushed to stop her. "They were arrested, Penny. _By _the military."

"That's silly. Ruby's a good girl! Her friends are too!" Penny asserted.

Maria rolled her robotic eyes. "They stole the bullhead they flew here in."

That gave Penny pause. Her swords lowered and folded in towards her, disappearing behind her back. Pietro reached a hand towards her in concern. "Now honey, I'm sure it's all one big misunderstandi-"

"Ruby's in her rebellious phase?!" Penny shouted excitedly. Maria nearly stumbled back from the girl's explosive excitement. Her eyes were shining as she looked between the two adults. "Puberty! It _must_ be puberty!"

_This is it._ _This insanity will be what finally puts me in the ground, _Maria realized. _I should have never gotten off that train._

The blades sprung out again, circling quietly behind the robot girl's back. Penny's grin was wide and just a little manic. It reminded her of Ruby's back in Argus, when they were in the thick of planning their "heist".

"I should be able to catch up with their transport in no time at all," Penny stated matter-of-factly. "Then I'll-"

"No breaking the law, sweetie." Pietro begged. "Please."

The blades retracted in a flash and a more innocent smile graced her face. "I'll go speak with Mr. Ironwood. Farewell Father!"

Resigned, the older man's shoulders sagged. "Be safe, darling!" Pietro called after her.

Penny shot into the air and waved back over her shoulder as she streaked away. "I will! And it was nice meeting you, Nana!"

Maria thought she might need dentures after how hard she ground her teeth. She was just starting to get used to the normal level of wackiness Ruby and her friends got up to and now it looked like things were about to get zanier.

"That girl is an angel," Pietro said with a heavy sigh. "The one that will see me to heaven, at this rate."

Maria only grunted. She was too old for this ten years ago.

"I suppose we should get out of the cold and have a look at your eyes," he said, turning back towards his home. "I'm sure we'll be hearing from the General in no time at all."


	2. Sleepover 1 (V7E2)

"Things were looking bleak for Team RNJR…"

Ruby's tone was low and ominous as she leaned forward from the edge of her bed. She commanded the attention of the entire room.

Penny's attention at least. Yang and Nora were focused completely on their video game on the other side of the dorm room, bumping shoulders aggressively as they battled. Though sitting with Penny on the bed opposite of Ruby's, Blake and Weiss were equally distracted.

"What then?" Penny asked. Her fists clenched in anticipation as she leaned forward to match Ruby.

"Penny, stay still!" Weiss squawked indignantly from behind her.

Penny squeaked out a tiny 'oops' before hurriedly unclenching her fists and sitting up straight. Weiss huffed and set back to brushing Penny's hair while Blake went back to work on her nails.

Penny chided herself internally. Ruby and her team went out of their way to have a slumber party just for her. She was even getting the princess treatment! She'd never had her nails painted before and if she wanted her hair changed she'd usually have to ask her father to design and machine a new set for her. Penny endeavored to be a better slumber partier.

"Nothing was working," Ruby continued. "Ranged weapons didn't put a scratch on it and even Jaune's new sword-sword, Crocea More, only made the Grimm angrier. Ren had just gotten thrashed and the beast was charging him! Nora tackled him into shelter under a nearby house, but it didn't care. I fired round after round into its back," Ruby mimed each shot, "but the Grimm ignored me. It reared up, brought its giant hooves down, and-!"

Ruby jumped up on the bed with her hands braced above her for effect. She paused dramatically and if Penny would have held her breath had she the need to breathe in the first place.

"It stopped! Its rear hooves were firm on the ground but its front half floated in the air! I jumped down to get a better view," Ruby continued her act by leaping from the bed to the floor, "and that's when I saw him. Standing between his friends and certain death, Jaune stopped the Grimm's charge dead with brute strength alone!"

Before she could rise to her feet and cheer, Blake and Weiss each placed a hand on her shoulders to keep her seated. Penny couldn't help but wiggle eagerly in her seat. Ruby certainly lived an exciting adventure after Beacon.

"It was noodle against demon horse noodle!" Ruby said as she continued acting out the struggle. "The odds were against him. With two tons of evil Grimm pressing down from above-"

"There is no way this 'demon horse noodle' weighed two tons," Weiss said, cutting Ruby off. "And what kind of Grimm is a 'demon horse noodle' anyway?"

That was a good question. Penny scoured her memory banks and couldn't find any Grimm that she would classify as a noodle. She could imagine a Grimm horse easily enough, but a horse _noodle_? Maybe it was like a centipede with hooves? Specialist Schnee would almost certainly know.

"It must have been a new type!" Ruby argued. "Back me up here, Nora."

Without turning away from her game, Nora responded. "Yup. Half horse, half noodle, all demon. Big as a house."

Yang snorted derisively, eyes still focused on their game. "Okay, sure. But two tons? No way. Ol' Vomit Boy might have beefed up a bit since Beacon, but even I couldn't lift two tons over my head."

Nora laughed. "Aww, that's okay buttercup. Being third strongest of the group is nothing to be ashamed of."

The game paused with a cheery tone and the room fell completely silent. Weiss and Blake's movements stopped briefly and they shared a quiet sigh before continuing Penny's pampering. Ruby mumbled a quiet 'oh boy' before Yang looped a not-so-friendly arm around Nora's shoulders.

"Third, huh?" Yang asked, and Penny thought she saw a faint flickering of flames coming off the blonde's long mane. "Who are you putting at first place in this little fantasy of yours?"

Nora forced a loud laugh and likewise looped an arm about Yang's shoulders. "You know there's only one queen around here."

They were on their feet in an instant, hands locked together in a tense grapple. Penny glanced from Ruby to Blake to the girls locked in mortal combat. What was happening?

"Oh yeah?!" Yang grunted as she tried to force the shorter girl down to the ground.

"Yeah!" Nora returned with a snarl, not giving an inch to the taller girl.

"Put your muscle where your mouth is, short stuff!" Yang hissed.

Mouth muscle? Did she mean her tongue? Did she mean..? Penny thought Nora was 'together together' with Mr. Ren. And wasn't Yang likewise with Blake? Would their partners mind? Was that something friends did to compete? She'd have to ask Ruby.

"You, me, arm wrestling. Best two out of three. Winner take all!"

Oh. That made _much _more sense.

"Arm wrestling?" Nora snorted, stepping back. "Puh-lease, buttercup. If we're doing this then we're going to settle it once and for all. We're going to the gym to hit the weights."

Yang cracked her knuckles. "Fine by me. I'll show you who's the strongest. We just need a witness. Who's down?" she asked, turning excitedly towards the others.

"Pass," Weiss and Blake deadpanned in unison without so much as a glance away from their current task.

A contest of strength sounded sensational, but she needed to hear how Ruby's story ended. "I am a little...indisposed?" Penny offered apologetically. It would be rude to interrupt all of Weiss and Blake's hard work.

"Looks like it's up to you, Rubes," Yang said with finality.

"Uhhhhh…." Ruby stalled, looking to the others for help.

"Oh!" Penny interrupted. "I would like to hear the rest of Ruby's story, if you don't mind."

Ruby sagged in relief and mouthed a silent 'thank you' her way. Penny preened - she was glad to be of service. She did want to hear the rest of the story, truthfully. Ruby was a wonderful storyteller.

Yang clicked her tongue and turned towards the door. "We'll be back soon. That is, if Nora can even walk after I'm done with her."

"Pffft!" Nora answered, following her rival. "You'll be _dragon_ your sorry butt back here in no time."

Yang froze before she reached the door. Turning back, she stared Nora down for a long moment before bursting into laughter.

"_Dragon?"_ she guffawed, throwing a friendly arm around Nora and pulling her towards the door. "That's a good one."

Nora laughed merrily along with her, returning the side hug as she pulled the door open. "I've been holding onto that one."

Before they could make their way out, Weiss shouted after them. "Hold it you two!"

The laughing girls stopped and turned back to the heiress, eyebrows raised.

"You can't go out looking like that!"

Both girls looked down at their clothes. Tank tops, short shorts, and bare feet. Excepting the last, it seemed like standard gym gear to Penny. Not that she'd ever gone to a gym.

Nora and Yang shrugged in unison. "It's after midnight. No one's going to see," Yang said.

They turned away and headed out of the room chatting amicably, the aggression from just moments ago completely forgotten. "I can't believe they're going to galavant across campus dressed like floozies…" Weiss grumbled as the door swung shut. Ruby and Blake laughed quietly at that.

"Soooo...where was I?" Ruby asked, settling back onto her bed.

"The demon horse noodle," Penny beamed, excited to hear the rest of Ruby's tale.

"Right! Noodle vs noodle, battle of the century," Ruby's eyes narrowed briefly before she giggled. "Or like five seconds. Jaune ended up flat on his back, so naturally I, as team leader, had to swoop in to his rescue…"


End file.
